1.1.1-Sophia-sol
brick!club 1.1.1 haaaaaa I don’t know who I thought I was kidding with that whole “I dunno if I’ll join the brick!club or not” thing, OBVIOUSLY I AM JOINING. My enthusiasm may well peter out well before the end — a YEAR LONG PROJECT, GOSH, I’ve never attempted something like this before! — but either way IT WILL BE FUN WHILE IT LASTS and I will do my darndest to see it through. Because LES MISERABLES. And READING AND TALKING ABOUT IT WITH INTERESTING PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTERESTING THINGS TO SAY. Obviously I am all over that! I don’t know how often I’ll post but you bet I will be reading along with the book and with people’s comments/conversations. I am reading the Hapgood translation because it’s free online. I am considering attempting to get my hands on a Fahnestock/McAfee because it’s supposed to be one of the best, but heck, I liked Hapgood when I read it the first time so it’s good enough for now. Although I would like a physical copy so I can more easily rifle all over the place through the pages and so I can leave it bristling with sticky-notes and so forth. …yeah, okay, I’m ordering a copy of the FMA from my local independent bookstore. Only 11 bucks! Although it doesn’t have nearly as pretty a cover as the Hapgood translation they’re selling. Phooey. ANYWAYS on to my thoughts on the actual content of today’s chapter! Which I am putting behind a cut because I rather go on. I hope I don’t have this much to say EVERY DAY because I just spent my entire lunch hour on this. 1. HOW DID I NOT NOTICE that “Bienvenu” is actually a LEGIT PART OF HIS LEGAL NAME? I thought it was entirely an affectionate nickname given to him by his people! SHOWS ME. 2. The whole 19th century “D—-” way of writing place-names has always intrigued me, ever since my first attempt at reading Pride & Prejudice lo these many years ago. Back in those days I assumed it was a way to refer to imaginary places in a landscape people knew too well and would be thrown off if an imaginary town was inserted where such a town didn’t actually exist. Or something. I then got confused when watching adaptations of the book where everyone was happily using ACTUAL NAMES where an initial and a dash served in the book and I was like ????? WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THEIR INFORMATION FROM? I still don’t know how this works or why 19th century people liked to do this or anything, and I have clearly not been using useful google search terms in my attempt to learn more, so if anyone has insight to share THAT WOULD BE GREAT. 3. “Although this detail has no connection whatever with the real substance of what we are about to relate, it will not be superfluous, if merely for the sake of exactness in all points, to mention here…" Starting off how we intend to continue, I see! Aww Hugo you’re so cute. On first read, I don’t think I paid any attention to this line at all., because I didn’t realize QUITE how characteristic of Hugo it is. But it is! I like. 4. I want ALL THE FIC about M. Myriel’s early life full of the world and gallantry. I think I didn’t notice this either, on my first read — perhaps because I was too eager and reading this first bit too quickly. (….I am starting to be alarmed at HOW MUCH I clearly missed on my first read. Clearly a reread is a GOOD IDEA.) Anyways, I am reminded of Brother Cadfael (of Ellis Peter’s Brother Cadfael mystery series), who has a young life full of, yes, the world and gallantry, and then when much older becomes a monk and is very happy there but doesn’t regret his earlier extremely unmonastic life at all. I like the thought that Myriel does a similar thing — instead of Hugo’s suggestions of the terrible blows that might have caused Myriel to about-face, it’s possible he just…decides he’s done with that life and now it’s time for something else. Though it would depend, of course, on the details of what in particular his earlier life entailed! 5.Ooh, the first instance of the word “epoch”! By gum does Hapgood use that word A LOT. I found my habits of speech warping towards use of the word while I was doing my first read of the book. I don’t usually have much cause to use the word “epoch” but all of a sudden I was finding ALARMINGLY MANY causes to use it! I checked the French original and it’s clear Hapgood is translating “epoque” as “epoch”. Google Translate thinks there are several more relevant terms in English than “epoch”, though as a non French speaker myself I can’t speak to how accurate that is. Is “epoque” a common word in French? Was it in the 19th century and not so much now? Was, for that matter “epoch” more common in English in the 19th century than it is now? I do not know! 6. “ “Who is this good man who is staring at me?” Napoleon "Sire," said M. Myriel, "you are looking at a good man, and I at a great man. Each of us can profit by it." BOOM. (Bishop ilu!) 7. I love the description of Mlle. Baptistine. 8. Oh look, even this early we get to see Hugo’s callous regard to telling things in a chronological order, talking about how after nine years in Digne the people stop gossiping about him partway through the chapter, and then at the end of the chapter have Myriel just arriving in Digne. YEP. Commentary Pilferingapples See how I’m not gloating? I’m so controlled. Someday, I will develop the ability to interact with a digital text the way I do with print— notes and bookmarks and such. Other people do! Until then…*sigh* Welcome to the Epoch of the Brick!club! Long may it reign! Or at least a year. I have been told through various sources that the Inital- naming convention was a sort of guard against charges of slander or libel— “The town of Des Choses” could be upset about words against them, but “the town of D—” less so. Anyone able to confirm? Ah, chronology. Who needs it? Thehighestpie (reply to Pilferingapples) The D- is particularly important for Digne because Myriel’s based on a real dude: François-Melchior-Charles-Bienvenu de Miollis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenu_de_Miollis, bishop of Digne 1805-1838. As it was, Miollis’ relatives were already pretty pissed at Hugo for implying that their bishop had a wild youth and *gasp* palled around with Terrorists (ohoho) like G-. The figleaf over the town’s name allows Hugo to officially distance himself from his character’s blatant historical inspiration. Sophia-sol (reply to Thehighestpie's reply) Oh hey cool! That actually makes sense as a reason! I LOVE LEARNING THINGS. Also for the first time I’m capable of understanding why the rl inspiration’s relatives might have gotten pissed, because like HOW MUCH MORE SAINTLY CAN A CHARACTER GET, but I’d forgotten to account for his wild youth and his conversation with the conventionary. Justice-turtle (reply to Sophia-sol's reply) I love how that sort of “blanks for anything real-world” became such a common convention (in English, anyway) that you’ll find writers as late as Dorothy Sayers (1920s) referring to an army regiment as “the Blankshires” from the older “the ——shires”. HISTORY. :D